Tasting Notes
Onbaşılar is one of Adana's oldest kebab names; the family dates the business to 1904. Today it is a large restaurant in the Karslılar area of Çukurova with tables looking over the Seyhan lake.
Adana kebab and the grill
The house dish is Adana kebab: lamb minced by hand with a zırh knife, mixed with tail fat and red pepper and grilled over charcoal on wide skewers. The grill list goes on with liver skewers, çöp şiş, lamb chops, küşleme, beyti and Ali Nazik made with either minced or cubed meat, plus chicken dishes such as piliç külbastı.
Starters and dessert
Before the kebab come cold starters and salads in the Adana style: ezme, onion salad, cooked onions, tahini salad, hummus and çiğ köfte made with meat. Fındık lahmacun, small bite-sized lahmacun from the stone oven, is the classic first order. Desserts include tel kadayıf and a mixed dessert plate.
“Book a table with a view of the lake for the evening, start with fındık lahmacun and ezme, then order Adana kebab.”
LR Kitchen — field note